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Hello everyone,

I am looking for opinions on the best book to work with to build from scratch (not kit building). I have been building acoustics, so I am familiar to a point on some areas. , I wanted to give building an electric a go rather than just buying a new one. Also, any good sources for material. Thanks guys, looking forward to hearing from everyone.

Jimmy

There are several and they all have their attributes and their shortcomings. I realize this answer is not helpful. Rest assured, opinions will follow on very soon. But my opinion is that you should acquire several books, read and understand them all and then find the particular set of methods that work with your personal building skills and your tool set.
Best of luck to you. Every one of us was there where you are at one time. And some of us, like me, were there before there was such a thing as an Internet to help us along. Read the posts which will surely follow. Make a choice or two...or three or more. Than, plunge in. You will be fine. Fair warning: You will also be addicted to a new hobby!

Hi Jimmy,
As far as material goes, IMO the wood used on a solid body has no effect on the sound the pickups produce. Of course, you want a stable and somewhat stiff neck.
Unlike an acoustic, for increased sustain the bridge is mounted solid to minimize string energy lost vibrating the guitar top.
At least, that's my theory.
Best of luck,
Dan

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I can't say that it is the "best" book, but Melvyn Hiscock's Make Your Own Electric Guitar combined with a set of Les Paul plans was all I needed to build my first electric. Hiscock covers the basic tools, materials, design consideration, wiring and finishing for three different styles of electrics (bolt on, set neck and thru neck). His section on neck angle considerations is particularly good if you are designing your own guitar - that way your neck, bridge, and pickups will be in the correct plane relative to one another.

As far as materials, electrics can be built out of almost any wood, but things like weight, stability and workability all come into play. As you know, Fender style guitars are often made of relatively inexpensive woods like poplar or ash, while many Gibson, PRS and similar ones are fancier woods - often mahogany bodies with maple caps. For necks you want stability - maple, mahogany, etc. All of these can be purchased in the right sizes from the suppliers listed at the top of the page - I buy much of my wood from LMI.

Just for chuckles, I'm currently building my second electric and documenting it on another forum. It is a chambered body with a slightly carved top, set neck and electronics pretty much like a Les Paul. If you are interested take a look here

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/for ... es-paul-jr

Thanks for the link, Freeman.
I'm working on an almost identical build. I have some issues and will watch your solutions.
Dan

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[quote="dzsmith]Thanks for the link, Freeman.
I'm working on an almost identical build. I have some issues and will watch your solutions.
Dan[/quote]

Not to snatch this thread, but I am a bit farther along on that one than the current posts - the neck pocket is cut and the neck is fitted. Four degrees is going to work out just fine. If you have any specific questions shoot me a PM or stay tuned to the thread.... My son also just built a LP Jr clone with a completely flat top and set the neck at 1-1/2 degrees, it wasn't enough and he is currently routing it out. There is also a great YouTube video on building a LP Jr - Google should find it for you but I can send you links if not.

Back to the regularly scheduled thread.....

Thanks everyone for the info. Freeman I will check out the link.

It would be helpful to know exactly what you wanted to build (flat top bolted neck like a Fender, carved top, set neck, etc). Do you want to duplicate an existing design or do your own (be warned that there are advantages to fitting standard cases). Also, many people buy necks off the internet and build their own body - if you have built acoustics you may want to carve your own neck. If you want to carve your own you may want to find a guitar that you like and copy the neck profile.

I'll add one comment about materials - obviously with any instrument the choice of wood will have some affect on the sound but in my opinion it is not nearly as important as with an acoustic. The sound of an electric is largely affected by the pickups, electronics and signal chain - I choose woods for workability and appearance. I've got an old koa coffee table and some hundred year old barn wood that will someday become guitars so you may be able to find woods at a local supplier that will work for your project. Obviously it needs to be dry and stable, and all of the suppliers that support this forum are good choices too.

freeman,

Thank you! My goal is to build a telecaster. I wanted to build it from scratch including the neck. My brother has a tele that I'm sure he would let me take apart to make templates. The neck is the part that worries me. As for the wood, if I went to say wood craft and bought some poplar, basswood, walnut, etc. what dimensions should I buy? Can I just laminate multiple boards together, then book match? My goal is to some day build a tele out of reclaimed barn wood.

Thanks for all of your help!


Jim


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I've never built a Tele but it is on my list of things to do - probably the barn wood. I would seriously recommend getting a set of plans - there are lots of options on the internet altho there may be some copy right issues. Plans just answer all those nagging little questions that keep popping up - they will help a lot with all the routing layout.

That said, the Hiscock book does build something very close to a Tele as its bolt on neck example - that plus your brothers guitar might be enough. I have one of those little gizmos that Grizzly sells to duplicate curves and its very handy for taking contours off of necks. I built a guitar for a friend and he wanted the neck profile exactly like a guitar he already had - this made it fairly easy



Yes, you can laminate boards together - I've used solid bodies and book matched the tops. I also laminate neck heels and do scarf joints for the headstocks - that shouldn't be an issue for you making a Fender style neck. Also you won't have all those pesky neck angle issues to deal with - old Leo was pretty smart about how to make his guitars easy to build.

Get the Hiscock book and some plans, then lets chat some more.

btw, the other lutherie forum used to have a contest for people to build a telecaster for a hundred bucks or less. There were some pretty creative guitars and shows you just what is possible.

Hiscock book is here, now to get a set of plans. Do you think it's worth while to purchase a set of templates rather than plans? I found a set of CNC cut templates consisting of the top, back, and neck for $50.00.


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Fifty bucks seems pretty reasonable but I've always made my own. I really think you need both - the templates will guide your router but the plans will give you so much more information - measurements and angles and such. I've seen several Tele plans on line but I don't know about any of them. You can certainly get them as pdf's or even cad files - if you get it in a .dwg format you can modify it (assuming you have a cad program). Any good print shop (Kinkos) or an engineer or architect can print from pdf or dwg files or if you get a paper plan have them make several copies for you. You can cut them up to make all sorts of patterns. Glue a cutout on some sort of solid material - I've used plexiglass and plywood and even MDF but it tends to damage easily. Cut that out carefully with a band saw or saber saw - take your time to make the edges perfect (sandpaper, files etc). You can stick that on your work piece with double sticky tape altho I like to back that up with a screw or two or a clamp. Get a couple of good router bits with the little follower bearings on them.

If you go back to the thread that I posted earlier its been updated quite a bit - almost all of the routing has been done. You'll see in the thread my home made template for the body, headstock, neck and other parts of the guitar - the one template that I bought was for the humbucking pickups but next time I would probably make my own. Make the templates really good - both so your routed parts will be smooth but also you'll probably be using them in the future.

I've also got to say that in my previous job I was spoiled - I was an engineer with both 2D and 3D modeling software and access to CNC mills and a laser cutter - I could design something and have the templates made in house. I've retired and now do it by hand, but kind of miss the old days...